


Floating

by whatthestoriesneversay (ashesandhalefire)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-16
Updated: 2012-11-16
Packaged: 2017-11-18 19:12:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashesandhalefire/pseuds/whatthestoriesneversay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of a post-war avatar is neither relaxing nor conducive to fostering a relationship, so Mako and Korra find comfort in stolen moments and promises of a better tomorrow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Floating

**Author's Note:**

> Set between seasons one and two. Which are way too far apart for my liking.
> 
> Cross-posted from tumblr.

Everything before had been fast—dizzyingly so—and then they kiss again and everything grows kind of still.

—

She has responsibilities to the city that he understands need to be her priority, and it leaves them floating in a way he doesn't entirely hate.

There are some parts that he knows he would change if he could. She leaves Air Temple Island early in the morning before anyone else is awake to go talk with Tenzin and the council, and she comes home after everyone else has already eaten dinner to sit in the kitchen and continue to discuss legislation. On her lunch breaks she patrols the streets near Central City Station, and at night she practices her airbending forms with a fierce determination for mastery. 

He sees her briefly on Sundays when the rest of the council refuses to meet for the entire day, and she winds her fingers around his beneath the table when they all gather for dinner. He tries not to smile too widely and suffers through eating with his left hand, and Korra steals a kiss when he follows her into the kitchen with a stack of dirty dishes.

“All I ever wanted was to be the avatar,” she says the third weekend it happens, dropping the plates into the sink as he comes up behind her with a handful of bowls. He reaches around her to drop them into the water, letting his arms settle around her waist. “Now all I want is a day off. Just one. One short, little selfish day that I can spend with you and not have to worry about the stupid council. Is one day to relax _really_ so much to ask?”

“Mhm,” he hums in her ear, his fingers tracing tight circles on the soft blue material of her shirt. “And what would we be doing on this one short, little day of relaxation?”

She shrugs lightly when his chin comes to rest on her shoulder, slouching back against him as she bends a gentle stream of water on the face of a plate. “I have some ideas, but I really don’t care. We could read each other the official pro-bending rules for twelve hours and I wouldn't care. I just miss hearing your voice.”

“No,” he says, wrinkling his nose. “Not the pro-bending rules. Those aren't relaxing. I could read you the owner’s manual for your Satomobile. Or I could borrow one of Jinora’s history books. She swears to me that the phonograph is fascinating.”

“Phonographs?” Her hands withdraw from the sink and drag along his exposed forearms, leaving a soapy trail as he spins her around. She presses back against the counter and pulls him forward by the tails of his scarf until their foreheads touch. “Tell me _more_.”

Their privacy comes to a screeching halt when Ikki rushes into the kitchen in search of the custard tart she spent the afternoon preparing with her mother, and Korra sighs, letting go of his scarf with a dramatic roll of her eyes. 

“Maybe two days,” she mutters dully, sparing him a glance as she grabs for the dessert placed high out of Ikki’s reach.

—

Tenzin points down towards the docks when he asks if Korra came back to the island with him, and Mako nods as he tucks his hands into his pockets. It’s a long walk down to the water, but he can see her sitting at the end of the pier all the way from the top of the steps. 

His footsteps thunk on the thick wooden planks as he approaches, but she doesn't bothering looking up, whipping a thin tendril of water around as she dangles her legs out over the bay. Shoulders sagged with exhaustion, she slides to make room for him without breaking the water steam, and he eases himself down beside her. The waves crash against the barrel supports of the dock, splattering their boots with salty spray, but Korra brushes it away with a flick of her hand.

“Hey.” He knocks his elbow lightly against hers.

“Hey,” she sighs, letting the water drop back into the waves. He watches her stifle a yawn before lifting her leg to drape over his, her head falling into the crook of his neck as she pulls his arm to wrap around her shoulders. “I would have come up to the house in a minute.”

“You seem tired.”

She nods lazily, nuzzling his skin. “That is an understatement. I’m exhausted. Do you have any idea how boring it is to sit in that room all day?”

“Not quite as interesting as pro-bending, huh?”

“Not even close. It’s just been…” She pauses, eyes rolling up to the sky, and then she huffs. “Too many days. It’s been too many days of being closed up in that room just _talking_. I get that there have to be set lists of rules to enforce so the people are protected, but it’s getting so technical and—” Groaning, she shakes her head. “It’s all just subsections and loopholes and committees. It’s boring and confusing and it’s all politics that I don’t understand, and I’m trying to be patient, but—”

“Patience isn't exactly your strong suit.”

She laughs lightly. “Mostly I just want to go out and find somebody to punch.”

“That’s probably not the best way to handle this.”

“Tenzin doesn't seem to think so either.” Sighing, she shakes her head. “I wish you could come with me. At least with you there I could tune out a little when the council turns into a bunch of stupid, elitist, obnoxious, inconsiderate, stupid—”

“You said stupid already.”

She shrugs. “They’re _really_ stupid sometimes. And I wish you could be there.” A gentle vibration hums across the back of her hand where Mako’s fingertips tease the smallest bit of lightning across her skin, and she hums contently, pressing a kiss to the hollow of his throat. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too. But, even if the council decided to let me in, I wouldn't be able to come.”

“Right, right.” She reaches over, pushing on his chest until they’re both lying flat on the dock, legs still tangled out over the bay. Resting her head on the swell of his upper arm, she stares up at the purple sky, watching the stars begin to peek out of the darkness. “My boyfriend, the policeman.”

“Policeman in training,” he corrects, fingers combing through the tangles in her left ponytail.

“Still, isn't that just the irony to end all ironies?”

“Somebody has to be able to get you out of trouble.”

“True. Tenzin and Lin probably only have so many get-out-of-jail-free cards to give me.” She frowns suddenly, forehead wrinkling. “Are you totally sure you want to be a cop?”

“I think so. I mean—”

“I’m only asking because—” Slapping his chest with the back of her hand, she grins. “You barely know how to have fun now. Just think how hard it’s going to be to get you to loosen up once you realize that most of the things I've been trying to get you to do for fun are kind of frowned upon. Illegal at worst.”

“I have fun!” he protests.

“Yeah, thanks to me!” 

Mako chuckles and turns to kiss her temple, and she feels him smiling. “We make a good team.”

“Good cop, bad avatar.” She hums thoughtfully. “I think I could get used to that.”

“What if I want to be the bad cop?”

“Ooh. Kinky.”

He sputters. “Korra!”

“Sorry, but, come on. I have a boyfriend that owns handcuffs. Think of the potential! All the jokes!”

“I’m sure everyone who’s ever been through the academy has already made them.”

She snorts. “Like that’s gonna stop me.”

“You could—”

He breaks off when her stomach growls loudly.

“Hungry?”

“Good guess. Come on,” she says, hopping to her feet. “Keep me company while I eat.”

He follows, trailing a step behind, and then reaches out for her hand.

“Hey, by the way…” 

He catches her by the wrist and pulls her back, cupping her cheek and covering her mouth firmly with his own. Korra yelps in surprise before her eyes flutter shut, and she pushes up onto her toes as his fingers wander to the messy tangles of her ponytails. He pulls away before she can tease her tongue against the line of his bottom lip, and Korra whines softly, fingers curling desperately around his coat.

She leans forward, pressing their chests together, and laughs as he rests his forehead against hers. Biting her lip as a smile spreads across her face, Korra drops her heels back to the ground.

“What was that for?” 

Mako smiles. “Happy one month anniversary.”

“Is it really?”

“One whole month of teamwork today.”

She wrinkles her nose with a smile. “Spirits. You poor boy.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s _brutal_.”

“Four dinners together in a month. Not a single real date since… Hmm, how long is it now? Oh, right. Since ever. Absolutely _no_ signs of increasing free time in the near future.” She shrugs, pouting, but her eyes twinkle knowingly. “I’m hardly worth the trouble, huh?”

“Oh, yes, you are.” He kisses her again, light and lingering. “Of course you are.”

“Yeah? Why?” She grins, tongue pressed to the backs of her teeth. “Because you love me?” she teases, twining her arms behind his neck. Mako smiles, walking them back down the dock slowly, and Korra sways with his steps as he holds her by the waist.

He nods. “Because I love you.”

“I turned you into a big softie, huh?” she murmurs, easing her nose against his. He stops walking suddenly, holding a hand to her cheek, and Korra’s heart flutters slightly. 

“You've done a lot more than that.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” A breeze sweeps in off the bay, swirling around them, and Mako pulls back, watching her tired eyes gaze up at him. He licks his lips. “You wrecked me. Pulled me apart, put me back together, turned my world upside down…and you wrecked me. Absolutely wrecked me. I’ll never be the same.”

She tightens her hold on his neck as his arms drop to loop around her waist. Taking a single step back onto the first of the stairs, she stands almost eye level with him and runs her tongue over her teeth. “Wrecked you, huh?”

“Mhm. And I’m a lot better for it.”

She squeezes her eyes shut and then laughs out loud, throwing her head back.

“Nice lines, City Boy.”

She untangles herself from him and goes bounding up the stairs, peeking over her shoulder as she goes, and Mako rocks forward onto his toes, grinning as he tucks his hands into his pockets.

It’s paralyzing to love her, but in a good way. He watches her climb the steps and allows it all to wash over him—how much he cares, how much misses her when she’s gone, how much he enjoys when she inevitably finds her way back to him—and then he ducks his head and chuckles as he starts to climb after her.

One family dinner a week with a stolen kiss here and there aren't exactly ideal, and there’s not a lot he wouldn't give to have spent the day with her, but their relationship is a slow and weird kind of steady that he isn't entirely uncomfortable with.

She’s a whirlwind more often than not, and he’s content to inhabit the eye of her storm for a little longer. He has no doubts that things will pick up again, that his life will be as wild as it became the day she stepped into the bending arena, that he’ll be chasing her across the world in no time, but for now he’ll enjoy the squeeze of her hand in his beneath the table and the weight of her head on his shoulder.

For now, he’ll follow and wait as she tries to save the world and he tries to figure out how to help. He’ll welcome her home with a smuggled bag of her favorite dumplings and sit with her in the kitchen after everyone else has gone to bed, holding her hand and kissing her when she practically falls asleep at the table. He’ll promise her that the next month will be better, the one after that even better, and he’ll walk her as far as the building where her bedroom is, accepting her mumbled “I love you” against his chest and whispering his own into her ear.


End file.
